History

Santa Cruz County lies directly south of Tucson. The town of Nogales is the county seat. Nogales is also a major border crossing between the United States and Mexico, and is part of a 'twin border city' situation. The Santa Cruz river runs north out of Mexico towards Tucson.

The historic Catholic mission near Tubac on I-19 was significant in the history of the area. However, any records that were produced when this was an active parish were not kept there, but may be in the Diocese in Tucson. Other missions are also nearby, mainly San Xavier which is in Pima County closer to Tucson.

Until 1821 - New Spain controlled land that later would become Arizona. Some records of early settlers may have been sent to an archives in Seville, Spain, or to archives in Mexico City.

In 1821 - Mexico obtained jurisdiction over the land that later would become Santa Cruz County, Arizona. Records of this period may have been sent to archives in Mexico City.

Parent County

Boundary Changes

See Previous Jurisdictions to land in Arizona showing dates the jurisdictions were created and maps. This will help in determining what jurisdiction your ancestor lived in and where the records are now located.

Resources

Cemeteries

Census

Church

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Arizona denominations, view the Arizona Church Records wiki page.
LDS Ward and Branch Records

Nogales

Court

Land

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Arizona Land and Property for additional information about early Arizona land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Santa Cruz County, Arizona Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the Wiki page section Arizona Local Histories.

Maps

Military

Newspapers

Finding More Arizona Newspapers

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Santa Cruz County, Arizona Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

Probate

From 1850 to 1864 during the territorial period, probate records of Arizona were kept by the probate courts of New Mexico. Then until 1912, the records were handled by county probate courts. Since then probate records, such as wills, claims, administrations, case files, and calendars are kept in the custody of the clerk of the superior court in the county courthouse.

The FamilySearch Catalog lists films of probate records. To find the records for this county, use the Place Search for Arizona, Santa Cruz - Probate records.